Download Poetry Terms

Poetry Terms
Name ______________________________
A. Types of Poetry
1. Poems are written in stanzas and lines, with or without rhyme.
Showing emotion or imagination.
2. Cinquain- is an unrhymed five-line poem with specific rules for
each line.
3. Concrete- is a poem written in the shape of the subject of the
poem.
4. Haiku- a three-lined poem with the first and third lines each
having five syllables. The second line has seven syllables. Use
imagination to create a single vivid picture.
5. Limerick- five line light verse. The first, second, and fifth lines
end with the same rhyme. The third and fourth lines also rhyme.
6. Lyric- is one that expresses the poet’s observations and feelings
and is musical in nature.
7. Narrative- is a story told in verse. These poems usually have all
the elements of a short story.(plot, characters, conflict)
8. Ballad- traditional song that tells a story of love, heroes, and
heroic deeds.
9. Free Verse- type of poem that allows the poet to write lines of
any length with no rhyming.
10.Sonnet(Shakespearean) has 14 lines
Rhyme Scheme
ABBA, CDDC, EFFE, GG
The same letters represent the same rhymes.
11.Elegy- is a poem of sorrow.
Notes to remember:
 Poets are not always the speakers in a poem. It is the voice
in the poem.
 Imagery is words or phrases that appeals the reader’s senses.
 Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar sounds.
 Rhythm is the pattern of stresses and unstressed syllables in
poetry. This is also known as the “beat” of the poem.
 Repetition is the repeated use of any element of language.
Sounds, phrases, lines, or grammatical structure.
 Symbol is something concrete that represents an idea or
feeling. Example Eagle=Freedom
 Verse is a single line of poetry usually part of a stanza.
 Stanza is a group of lines of poetry.
 Mood is the emotional affect the poem has on a reader.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Personification
4. Alliteration
5. Onomatopoeia
6. Hyperbole
7. Assonance
Examples of these:
1. She is as old as dirt.
She is like a beautiful sunset.
2. My car is a lemon.
She is the sun in my life.
3. My desk said, “get up and go home.”
My pencil said, “sharpen me.”
4. My mama makes milkshakes on Mondays.
The sun shines brightly over the sun-shaded tree.
5. The bees went BUZZING through the forest.
The POP of the popcorn makes me hungry.
6. The sidewalk is so hot that it is melting my feet.
There are a million people on this bus.
7. The party was fun now I want a hotdog in a bun.
Let’s take a look at a new book for the Nook.
8. Allusion: a reference to something in history or literature
9. Consonance: the repetition of end consonant sounds
10. Oxymoron: the setting together, for effect, two words of opposite
meaning. i.e. burning cold, screaming whisper
11. Pun: play on words